Dominic Rodriguez wasn't an active member of the furry community when he decided to make a documentary about the subculture. Sure, he was intrigued by drawings of happy, human-sized animals, but his interest wasn't deep. "I was sort of half in half out," he told Glamour. It took Rodriguez a full two years of filming Fursonas, his documentary on furries and the sometimes complicated world of conventions, custom-made fur suits, and—shockingly—political intrigue.

What are furries? Men and women who dress in anthropomorphic suits and enjoy living lives in character as animals. But not just any animals; think elaborately constructed costumes in the style of Japanese animation, or a Jim Henson puppet, or Sonic the Hedgehog. These are fully realized alter egos that let furries express themselves and their desires in a way they couldn't otherwise. According to Rodriguez, there are probably around a million people in the furry community, although only a few thousand regularly attend conventions and events.

Over the course of four years of filming, Rodriguez and his film crew went to the nation's largest furry convention, met with men and women of all ages and backgrounds from all over the country, and tried to dig deeper into what it means to be a furry than just, "Do you have sex in the suits?" The answer, just like you'd find in any group of people is, some people do, but everyone's different.

The film hasn't been without detractors. Rodriguez told the Daily Beast last week that he has been banned from Anthrocon, the nation's largest furry convention–one that is run by a powerful furry figure who calls himself Uncle Kage and deeply distrusts all members of the media. That doesn't take away from the power of the film, which shows men and women looking for friendship and love, and trying to live their best lives. Glamour spoke with Rodriguez about his personal journey to accepting himself, his film, and what you should do if you're interested in learning more.

Fursonas is available to watch on streaming services on May 10.

Glamour: How did the process of actually making the movie happen?

Dominic Rodriguez: It started with just finding people who would talk to me. Not everyone has a fur suit, so it was important to talk to people with fur suits—that showed dedication to the community. The first round was a lot of making sure they were comfortable and didn't feel like they were being persecuted. There's a lot of that skepticism in the community. Telling them "No, I'm not trying to spin you one direction or another. Later, when we had a history, I asked more challenging questions, and four years later, that's how we got to where we are.

In terms of my personal story and revealing that I am a furry...they made me do it. I have been interested in this stuff since I was 12, and I'd studied it from a distance. Not something I would closely identify myself with. I'd never been to a convention before 2012, when I started filming. I knew a lot of stuff, but not that much, I was sort of half in, half out.

When I started going to conventions, I started meeting people, and certain things changed for me. For a long time I didn’t get the appeal of suits—I like drawings. Someone like Gris [one of the people profiled in the film], he just owned that suit and he was so funny and comfortable. When I invested in my suit, I got it from the same maker as he did. I started dating my boyfriend, which was part of becoming more comfortable with what I was interested in.

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I didn’t tell my crew for two years that I was a furry. When I revealed it, I felt like they would never trust me again. I didn’t want to be in [the film] because I thought it would take away the legitimacy and my voice as a filmmaker. But if I expected these people to be honest with me, I had to put some of that [process] in.

Glamour: What surprised you the most after spending so many years in this community?

DR: A thing I that I did not know until I started working on the film: this is a community with a million people or so, and convention goers are small fraction, maybe only 6,000 or so. The people who do go to cons are known, [it's] crazy that everyone knows everybody. It’s a small world, it feels like a small town, when something happens, everyone finds out of it.

Glamour: Was there anything you felt like you needed to debunk? Any misconceptions you wanted to confront?

DR: Very immediately, I knew that I didn’t want it to be exploitative, but didn’t want it to be a PR piece. I knew that some stereotypes are true and others are based on false notions. I wanted a variety [of people] and to challenge the idea that it’s one thing. The furries would be very concerned that it was all going to be the bad, sexual side of furries, or the good innocent side of furries. The biggest misconception is that it’s just a sex thing. It’s more than that for basically everyone. Eroticism is definitely a part of it. Every furry I talk to tries to give me a number, "oh it's only X percent that’s into it for this reason." It’s such a defensive way to deal with it. People get into it for lots of reasons or sometimes get into it for different reasons than they say.

Glamour: What’s your relationship to being a furry now?

DR: The first convention I went to for fun was in 2014, and that was tons of fun. It was almost therapeutic: "I don’t have to be on duty, [I] can just do what I want." I have been to about 14 cons since then, especially when I got my suit. I got my suit in August, and if I could go every month I would. Something really cool about being in a suit and talking to someone in a suit is that you don’t know what you each look like. Nobody knew who I was when I started, but now my name is out there. It’s cool and also kind of scary.

Glamour: What happens now?

DR: Not even a few months ago, I said I’m not making any more furry documentaries. Now that the movie is getting out there and is starting conversations, I'm really thinking about how to follow up. I want to make more furry projects because it’s a community I want to keep taking seriously and it’s a large enough community that it matters.

When I was actually done and we premiered in Pittsburgh [Rodriguez's hometown], everyone in my life was there, I had my suit on, and by the end of the Q&A I was bawling. I care a lot about the community and it’s great that furries are so protective of their image, they’re so sensitive about representation. It’s been really rewarding but also incredibly terrifying.

Glamour: What kind of reaction do you want?

DR: I hope that people see the furries as people—that’s why you see people in fur suits—you don’t know anything about them. It’s so easy to judge when all you have is that image. I hope they see them as people, and that the movie is about acceptance. When I started this, I was hesitant to worry too much about it having a happy ending or having a story. It was just this weird plotless thing, and what changed is how I changed. My belief is that if we just support and accept each other the world would be a better place. There’s just so much potential for people if they respect each other. Let’s keep talking about these things.

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Glamour: What if someone wanted to learn more about furries?

DR: I think you know some people. I guarantee you, you know some furries. People should just check out a furry convention. My movie is the tip of the iceberg. Anthrocon is the biggest one in Pittsburgh, and Midwest Fur Fest, the second biggest convention, is in Chicago, but they're all over, they're everywhere. Just go check one out!